The BBC dance music legend and the Friday Night Dance Music Marathon team have named his 2 hour long masterpiece Radio 1’s Essential Mix of the Year for 2012. Following a quick rise to fame since his breakout album of 2011, Space Is Only Noise, it seems the adoring public couldn’t quite get enough of the 22-year old producer in 2012, who sets an atmospheric mood through tempo and beats while experimenting with the listener’s perception of time. “The judges thought that Jaar’s mix was bold, brave and timeless. It mixed Aphex Twin with string quartets, Ricardo Villalobos with Marvin Gaye, it had Beyonce unplugged and it had Jay Z playing golf!” they observe. It’s a quite adventurous mix indeed, beginning with Angelo Badalamenti talking about the process of writing the Twin Peaks score and then segueing into a cerebral melange of Aphex Twin, Feist, Marvin Gaye, Bill Callahan, the Field and, yes, *NSYNC.
According to Jaar, “I’ve watched Jurassic Park twice in my life – once when I was six and the second time a couple of weeks ago. It inspired me to think about how gaps in time change our way of perceiving.” You will probably listen to this mix more than twice, sorry Spielberg…